What the stock market did in 2014

Who had a good 2014 and who had a year to forget?

It has been a mixed year for investors. As the year comes to a close the FTSE 100 stands a little over 6,500, almost 3% below where it was at the end of 2013.

But, at the start of December it sat at 6,722.60, just nine points below its starting point for the year. Unfortunately, the plummeting oil price combined with fears about how Russia will cope with the oil slump has caused falls across the indices.

Here’s a look at how the UK market indices have faired in 2014:

It has been a particularly bad year for AIM investors with that index steadily losing almost 20% of its value over the past 12 months.

The AIM index officially entered bear market status in October thanks to the slumps in the oil and mining sectors. With smaller companies often acting as a barometer for the wider economy as they react to underlying market conditions quicker, this slump could spell bad times for investors in 2015.

Tech investments buck the trend

The one index that has returned a profit to investors in 2014 is the FTSE Techmark, which is up 8.62% from its opening price at the start of the year. The index slumped in the autumn but a strong recovery is seeing it end the year on a high.

The tech index has been supported by the strong individual performance of certain stocks. For example, medical equipment firm Smith & Nephew has had a strong year with shares up 27%. It has seen its share price soar in the closing weeks of the year due to renewed rumours of a takeover.

Another member of the index, Betfair, has also had an impressive year. The gambling exchange has undergone a transformation withdrawing from unregulated markets and bringing in new customers with a more traditional approach. As a result its shares rose by 37.69% in 2014, and earlier this month it announced a £200 million cash return to investors with a 50% increase in the interim dividend.

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Dogs of the FTSE

Every year some stocks have a remarkably bad years while others dazzle. The ones that do particularly badly and markedly underperform the FTSE 100 are known as the FTSE dogs.

Here are the shares that have given investors a particularly tough year in 2014:

Given the woeful oil price it is no great surprise to see a few oil firms have had a rotten 2014. Anyone invested in Tullow Oil will have seen their stock value halve over the year.

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that three of the big four supermarkets are among the worst stock market performers of 2014, having been hit by everything from accounting errors to competition from the likes of Aldi and Lidl.

Analysts are not predicting a quick recovery for the nation’s best known supermarkets with many saying it will take years for Tesco to turn around its fortunes.

The star stocks of 2014

Here are the stocks that have left their investors with smiles on their faces this year:

Top of the pops is Shire with a share price rise of 67.51% over the past 12 months. The pharmaceutical firm has seen its share price rocket over speculation it is about to embark upon a spending spree of acquisitions which could significantly add to the firm’s value.

The recovery in the construction industry has helped to lift Ashtead Group’s share price – the firm rents out building equipment – and that of housebuilder Persimmon.  Investors have seen these firm’s share prices soar by 50.85% and 29.86% respectively.

So, while the indices show 2014 to have been a pretty poor year there are stocks that have beaten the herd and delivered impressive returns to their investors. Time will tell whether 2015 delivers better results for the markets as a whole though.

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